Our last BIG VACATION

 

My wife and I have been using an American Express-Delta credit card for over 20 years.  We use that card for as many purchases as we can.  In the 20 years that we have been using that card, we have never paid any interest payments, always paying it off before any interest is due.

We have used our points to fly to Cancun, Mexico; Las Vegas, Nevada; Honolulu, Hawaii; NYC, NY; Paris, France; and, Vancouver, Canada.

Before yesterday, we had over 400,500 frequent flyer miles built up and decided to use those miles to fly to Honolulu, Hawaii again and take an island cruise as our LAST BIG VACATION before turning 80 years of age.  We had made the assumption that once we reached 80, we would not be traveling that much anymore.

A Delta agent helped us book our flight out of Atlanta, GA, flying nonstop to Hawaii in Delta comfort seats, right behind the first-class bulkhead.  Our return flight would put us in first-class seats right behind the Delta One bulkhead.  Our return flight would also be non-stop.

This trip would leave us with 45,000 points that we would donate to fly critical care patients to a hospital.  We had done this before with the points we earned on United and American Airlines.

My wife and I consider ourselves to be lower middle class financially, but the point of this article is to let people know that if you are willing to be patient and plan, there are many things you can do that you might think you do not have the financial resources to do.

Somewhat Political

 

Parkinson’s reversal? One drug brings dying brain cells back to life

A potent LRRK2 inhibitor rebuilt primary cilia, revived dopamine signaling, and doubled nerve-ending density 

in mice with Parkinson’s mutations, suggesting enzyme-blocking therapy could slow or reverse disease. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Putting the brakes on an enzyme might rescue neurons that are dying due to a type of Parkinson's disease that's caused by a single genetic mutation, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study conducted in mice.


The genetic mutation causes an enzyme called leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2, to be overactive. Too much LRRK2 enzyme activity changes the structure of brain cells in a way that disrupts crucial communication between neurons that make the neurotransmitter dopamine and cells in the striatum, a region deep in the brain that is part of the dopamine system and is involved in movement, motivation and decision making.

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Steve Earle - Copperhead Road (Official Music Video)

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The Shannon Joy Show

 

Ballooning

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Dark Night

 

The Amber May Show

 

Vacationing

 

The Big MIG

 

Country Fence

 

News Variable

 

Who Are You?

 

TimcastIRL

 

Mountain Life

 

Brookings Brief

Seven economic facts about prime-age labor force participation

Headlines

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Kraft Heinz may split up soon. Kraft Heinz’s grocery and sauces businesses may not go together like ketchup and fries for much longer. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is planning to spin off the grocery side, including most Kraft products, into a business worth $20 billion, leaving sauces and spreads, like Heinz Ketchup and Grey Poupon mustard, as a separate company—though it’s also weighing other options. The move would effectively undo the 2015 megamerger that spawned Kraft Heinz, which was orchestrated by Warren Buffett and PE firm 3G Capital Partners. The deal was meant to dominate the packaged goods industry, but the brands struggled to hit the right blend as consumers turned toward less processed food.

Trump escalates US–Canada trade fight with 35% tariff threat. America is playing hardball in trade negotiations with its neighbor that invented poutine. In another tariff letter, President Trump announced late Thursday that he would impose a 35% tariff on Canadian goods as of Aug. 1, and would raise it further if Canada retaliates. Under the president’s current tariffs, there’s already a 25% levy on Canadian products not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada is a major US trading partner, but President Trump criticized both its trade practices and what he views as its failure to stop shipments of fentanyl from entering the US. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would keep negotiating with the US and had made “vital progress” in curbing fentanyl.

State Dept. fires more than 1,300 people. Putting into motion a reorganization plan that the administration says will cut down bureaucracy and bring the agency up-to-date, the State Department began notifying laid-off employees yesterday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hopes to cut about 15% of the department’s workforce, and the layoffs are intended to get rid of duplicative or redundant operations. But current and former diplomats have criticized the reduction in staff, saying it will weaken US influence abroad, per the Associated Press.—AR

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At A Glance

Bookkeeping
> Over 7 billion years: The presumed age of an interstellar object discovered last week; astronomers believe it could be the oldest comet ever seen.
> $42,232: How much the world’s most expensive cheese—a Cabrales variety aged in a cave for 10 months—sold for at auction.

Browse
> See racehorses train in the ocean on Barbados' Pebble Beach.
> The best time to shower, based on your priorities.
> Some restaurants are serving vegetables for dessert.
> Best Trader Joe’s wines for every occasion, per a sommelier.

Listen
> What makes one animal a pet and another a pest?
> How a tune went from a lullaby to the "Jeopardy" theme song.


Watch
> Pineapple leather and seaweed fibers could be the fashion of the future.
> This 16th-century painter shaped our understanding of bugs.
> Learn the art of mochi pounding from a master of the trade.

Long Read
> One family's miraculous escape from the Texas floodwaters.
> Meet the 25-year-old leveraging social media to run for Congress.
> The spiritual allure of Washington's Tree of Life.

Most Clicked This Week: What happens when you flush an airplane toilet.

15 Min Yoga for Flexibility & Mobility | Increase Hips, Inner Thigh & Ha...

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> American Amanda Anisimova upsets No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka to advance to tomorrow's Wimbledon women's final against Iga Swiatek; men's semifinal matches are set for this morning (More)

> "The Office" spinoff "The Paper" sets Sept. 4 premiere on Peacock (More) | "The Young and the Restless" leads all series in nominations for the 52nd Daytime Emmy Awards with 19; see complete list of nominees (More)

> Paul McCartney announces 19-date North American tour beginning Sept. 29 (More) | Screen Actors Guild ends nearly yearlong strike with video game companies over use of AI replicas (More)


Science & Technology
> xAI releases Grok 4, the latest version of its flagship large language model; CEO Elon Musk says model was trained on the company's Colossus supercomputer (More) | Large language models explained (1440 Topics)

> New bionic knee, which integrates directly into bone and muscle tissue, restores natural movement in patients with above-the-knee amputations; users in clinical trial report device feels like a natural extension of the limb (More, w/video)

> DNA analysis of Greenland sled dogs—the world's oldest known breed, known as "Qimmeq"—reveals Inuit communities arrived as early as 1,200 years ago; estimate is hundreds of years earlier than previously thought (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.1%); S&P 500, Nasdaq reach new records (More) | Bitcoin notches new all-time high above $113K, up roughly 21% since the start of this year (More)

> Italian candy maker Ferrero, owner of brands including Nutella, Kinder, and Ferrero Rocher, to buy cereal maker WK Kellogg in roughly $3.1B deal; WK Kellogg shares close up nearly 31% on the news (More)

> Tesla to hold annual shareholder meeting Nov. 6 amid investor pressure; comes four months past deadline under Texas law, where Tesla is incorporated (More) | Ford recalls over 850,000 cars in the US due to potential fuel pump failure (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Secret Service suspends six agents without pay for up to 42 days, nearly one year after assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania (More) | Suspect in second assassination attempt on Trump at a Florida golf course seeks to represent himself in his trial, scheduled to begin in September (More)

> Gaza hospital accuses Israeli military of killing at least 15 people, including seven children, waiting in line to receive nutritional supplements; Israel says it targeted militants (More) | Hamas says it will release 10 hostages amid ceasefire negotiations; did not say when release would occur and whether hostages were among 22 living or 28 dead hostages still believed to be held captive (More)

> France and the UK reach deal to address migration, other issues; so-called "one in, one out" agreement will see the UK deport some migrants arriving by boat in exchange for accepting those with UK family connections (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Middle Child INTJ

 

I was the middle child in my family.  My sister was almost 4 years older, and my brother was a solid 8 years younger.  

Ordinarily, being the middle child would not have been a problem except that I had an unusual personality.  Years later, when in my 20's, I discovered that my personality, according to Myers-Briggs, was that of an INTJ.  

While it is not the rarest personality type, it is still rare comprising about 2% of the population.  And it is unlikely that INTJs are the middle child in a family.  Yet, as the middle child, I became very introverted, feeling like I did not belong in the family.

I was heavily criticized by both parents for not living up to their expectations of what they thought I should be like.  This pressure on me while not understanding who I was or was supposed to be, caused me to rebel.  My rebellion was executed with exaggeration and after entering my teenage years found myself at odds with law enforcement.

My father took the family overseas to live in Cairo, Egypt and it is there that I began and graduated from high school.  My unique personality flourished in that environment but was soon deflated when I returned to the USA and entered college, again retreating and becoming introverted.

My 45 year career was a constant battle between my personality and the personalities of those around me, those with whom I worked, and those that supervised me - none of whom seemed to understand or appreciate who I was and why I was so different from them.

Close friends, I could count on one hand and true friends, I could count with two fingers, neither of them living close enough to establish a working relationship - one dying of colon cancer when we were in our 60s.  He was my oldest knowing friend as our friendship started in THIRD GRADE.

At 77 almost 78, my personality matters very little to me anymore, although, my second wife and I still struggle at times with my personality.  She cannot understand why I am not more like her.  I cannot understand why she does not understand that I am different from her and always will be.

Somewhat Political

 

Astronomers Stunned by 33-Billion-Light-Year Cosmic Structure That Defies All Known Physics

In a groundbreaking study that challenges current cosmological models, scientists have discovered the Great Wall of Hercules-Corona Borealis, a colossal galactic structure spanning nearly 10 billion light-years, prompting a re-evaluation of our understanding of the universe's large-scale architecture.

The cosmos, vast and mysterious, never ceases to surprise us with its wonders. One of the most fascinating discoveries that continue to intrigue scientists is the Great Wall of Hercules-Corona Borealis, a colossal structure challenging our understanding of the universe.

Recent studies using gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most energetic explosions known, have revealed that this structure is even more extensive than previously thought. As we dive deeper into this astronomical marvel, we uncover insights that could reshape our comprehension of cosmic structures.

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Crosby, Stills Nash - Southern Cross

An Ideal Location